Doing Research Integrity across the Arts and Humanities
A One-Day Workshop, with Professor Monica Heller
The University of Hong Kong, Centennial Campus, Run Run Shaw Tower, 7/F, Room 7.45
Wednesday 22 April 2015, 9:15am – 5:30pm
PROGRAMME
9.15–9.30
Welcome
9.30–11.00
Keynote lecture:
Research integrity in theory and practice: Doing critical sociolinguistic ethnography
Monica Heller, University of Toronto
11.00–11.30
Coffee
11.30–12.30
Discussion of keynote
12.30–14.00
Lunch
14.00–15.30
Presentations by RPGs:
Doing ethnographic work in Chinese criminal courts: A researcher’s dilemma
Jade Biyu Du, School of English
Bystanders in institutional ethnography
Kara Fleming, School of Humanities, Linguistics
Research integrity in a socio-legal study on unrepresented litigants
Matthew Yeung, School of English
Understanding transgender people in Hong Kong
Kimberly Tao, School of English
When indigenous communities ask linguists to have their languages documented
Dalan M. Peranginangin, School of Humanities, Linguistics
15.30–16.00
Coffee
16.00–17.00
Discussion of case studies
17.00–17.30
General discussion, summing up and close
Registration
Please register for the workshop at http://arts.hku.hk/DoingResearchWorkshop by 13 April 2015.
Registration includes lunch and coffee breaks. There is no registration fee. Electronic versions of the
readings and abstracts will be sent to all registered participants before the event.
Organised by
Professor Adam Jaworski, Associate Dean (Research), Faculty of Arts
Dr Lisa Lim, Chair, Departmental Research Postgraduate Committee, School of English
Supported by
Research Integrity Funding Scheme, The University of Hong Kong
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ABSTRACTS
Keynote Lecture:
Research integrity in theory and practice: Doing critical sociolinguistic ethnography
Monica Heller
Department of Social Justice Education, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto
What does it mean in ‘responsible research’ to use the lens of language to enquire into the making of
social difference and social inequality? In this workshop, we will make links among the kinds of theory
of language and society within which such a question even makes sense, the kinds of research goals that
question generates, what it produces as relevant data, and the social relations involved in identifying
them, analysing them and telling the story they teach us. We will draw from examples of my own (sole
and team) fieldwork on language and nationalism in francophone Canada, and work through implications
of some of the questions workshop participants bring to the conversation.
Suggested * and further reading
*Heller, M. 2008. Doing ethnography. In Li Wei and M. Moyer, eds. Research Methods in Bilingualism
and Multilingualism. Oxford: Blackwell. 249–262.
Cameron, D., E. Fraser, P. Harvey, B. Rampton and K. Richardson. 2014 [1992]. Ethics, advocacy and
empowerment. In A. Jaworski and N. Coupland, eds. The Discourse Reader, 3rd ed. London:
Routledge. 128–141. (Or the same chapter in 1st or 2nd edition of The Discourse Reader).
Heller, M. 2011. Paths to Post-nationalism: A Critical Ethnography of Language and Identity. Oxford:
Oxford University Press. 1–12.
Biography
Monica Heller, Professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, and
current President of the American Anthropological Association, is one of the most regarded,
contemporary anthropological linguists and sociolinguists. For several decades, she has conducted solo
ethnographic research and led large research teams across a wide range of social and institutional
contexts – manufacturing and service industries, government organizations, education, media, etc. While
her work has largely focused on social, political and cultural change under globalization in Canada, the
implications and theoretical impact of her work have resonated internationally.
Case studies:
Doing ethnographic work in Chinese criminal courts: A researcher’s dilemma
Jade Biyu Du
School of English, HKU
My research project focuses on interpreter-mediated criminal hearings in Chinese courtrooms. In 2014, I
conducted four months’ fieldwork in two local courts in south China. In this presentation, I will highlight
some ethical issues that I have encountered in the process of collecting primary data, including
approaching informants and using off-record information. Because of ideological concerns in the current
Chinese context, requiring research participants to sign an informed consent form may jeopardize their
anonymity. How one obtains research participants’ informed consent without causing them any danger
has to be taken into consideration when doing fieldwork in China. On some occasions, I happened to
engage in small talk with some people working in the legal sphere. How can the off-record information
obtained from such informal encounters be used without violating research ethics? Finally, I will address
the issue of maintaining participants’ anonymity in public presentations. Overall, by reflecting upon my
personal experience, I aim to discuss the dilemmas I have been confronted with in fieldwork, that is: how
to achieve the optimum for research and maintain research integrity at the same time.
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Bystanders in institutional ethnography
Kara Fleming
School of Humanities – Linguistics, HKU
When conducting ethnography or observation in an institution, it can be impossible to get informed
consent from everyone the researcher comes into contact with. How should researchers behave with
regard to these interactions? I will discuss this issue with reference to my own research in a secondary
school. Though I had informed consent from all the central student and teacher participants, during my
fieldwork I also took part in school events and informal interactions with others. I will discuss my
attempts to balance respect for non-participation and privacy with a desire to incorporate additional
perspectives and present my research site accurately, and consider potential implications for researchers
working in similar contexts.
When indigenous communities ask linguists to have their languages documented
Dalan M. Peranginangin
School of Humanities – Linguistics, HKU
This paper responds to a question on how linguists should satisfy demands from indigenous communities
who want their languages to be documented. The discussion begins from my experiences in working in
LIPI’s (the Indonesian Institute of Sciences) project on documenting Pagu, a minority language spoken
in North Halmahera of North Maluku province, eastern Indonesia. The project ended in 2014 but the
Pagu community still needed such a work. They raised money for project, and successfully got funding
from a gold mining company, (Nusa Halmahera Mineral – NHM), enough for running a new project for
the next four years (2015 – 2018). Three other neighbouring communities in NHM’s ‘inner circle’ also
want their languages and cultures to be documented as they also worry that their cultures and languages
will die. What should we do as linguists in order to fulfil such demands?
Understanding transgender people in Hong Kong
Kimberly Tao
School of English, HKU
My project concerns the way law classifies and defines fundamental terms such as “man” and “woman”.
But it also seeks to include the voices of transgender people themselves and to present their own views
about the nature of gender identity. I interviewed 12 Hong Kong transgender people, a protracted process
through which I intended to find out how they perceived gendered labelling and the categories that have
been imposed on them and how they performed their gender roles. Since I am interacting with people
that are members of a small and barely visible minority, it is important for me to always remind myself
that I have to be extra cautious about and sensitive to their feelings and privacy. In my presentation, I
will be sharing my experiences in interacting with transgender people in Hong Kong and issues that I
encountered when I was trying to maintain a friendly yet professional relationship with them.
Research integrity in a socio-legal study on unrepresented litigants
Matthew Yeung
School of English, HKU
This presentation deals with the notion of research integrity in the context of law - the interactions
between unrepresented litigants (laypeople who represent themselves without legal counsel) and legal
professionals. Unfamiliarity with legal knowledge and settings renders most unrepresented litigants
unable to navigate the legal system well on their own, and, in fact, many judges and lawyers often see
unrepresented litigants as the root of communication problems in court (see Cameron, Kelly & Chiu,
2006; 2007; Kelly & Cameron, 2002; 2003; Kelly, 2005; Ng, 2009). My research intends to give voice to
unrepresented litigants using a bottom-up approach. Data were collected by conducting courtroom
observation, questionnaires and interviews with unrepresented litigants in Hong Kong. The presentation
will explain how the research approaches the informants and handles the data with the aim of addressing
their voice in the issue of self-representation. The presentation will conclude by suggesting how a
minimal intervention in the interview process with laypeople may be useful for socio-legal research.
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